Creation, Not Procreation

Scripture Readings: 

Matthew 1:18

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Galatians 3:16

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

Commentary: 

Creation, Not Procreation (Ryan Pederson)

Our lives are a constant cycle of present decisions affecting future circumstances. Your decision to workout and eat right in the present will most likely lead to a healthier lifestyle in the future. My decision to help serve with the high school ministry at a local church eventually led to meeting my future wife who also became a servant to that ministry. While decisions like these can lead to positive circumstances, there is also the other side of things.

Adam and Eve’s decision to partake in the forbidden fruit has affected the entire human race’s standing with the Lord of the Universe. While we may not feel as though some of our sinful decisions stack up with what Adam and Eve did, our problem is all the same. Sin separates us from God. 

Thankfully, our God is a loving God, and desires for each of us to know Him intimately for eternity. He knew we would need a way back to Him, and in His grace provided just that.  For us to have that opportunity, however, it would require work of God to close the gap between humankind and our Maker. 

The Old Testament was written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus and contains over 300 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled from birth to death and resurrection.  One of these prophecies, found in Isaiah (7:14), tells us that the Messiah would come in the form of a baby boy, born from a virgin. 

As we read about Jesus’s birth, the importance of the birth account in the gospels comes from the details. The Father of Christ was no earthly man, but God Himself, making Jesus fully God and fully man, and fulfilling one of the first few prophecies that Jesus would fulfill during his time on earth.

But why is the virgin birth SO important? This answer can be traced to the sin nature in every human that walks this earth. Every normal, human birth produces another sinner, just as Adam, as sinner, produced a race of sinners. Our Savior had to be genuinely human and truly sinless in order to be our perfect substitute and pay our penalty of guilt before an infinite God by His death.

An often overlooked detail is one of the most important pieces of the story of Jesus. The detail that made Jesus the perfect sacrifice is the detail that gives us the opportunity to have eternal life. Without the virgin birth, there would be no salvation for sinners. Jesus Christ would not be sinless, making him unfit to exchange his righteousness for our sin.

Prayer & Reflection: 

Heavenly Father, thank you for your perfect plan to save us from ourselves. The intricacies of your plans continually glorify your name. Give me the eyes to see you work around me so that I may fall deeper in love with you.